Paying the Debt
by Blackdawn-70631
Summary: Tam' gotchi' did not grow up a "normal" life like other yautja (predator), all of her past doings has branded her a pirate like mercenary, and now, she is hired be a man known as Mack Pioneer, but things don't go as planned.


I only wanted to start anew with this story, work on my editing and such. This first chapter was helped out by Darwin (user id: 38645), a known writer in this area as well as other's and on FictionPress, I'll try and get my next chapters as good as this one. 

Paying the Debt   
Message 

Tam' gotchi' sat back in the chair sifting through the messages on the small screen. Clicking her mandibles from time to time out of boredom, her bright yellow eyes moving over the symbols in each. None of the messages intrigued her, for they were all the same..." Got to get that damn Fress stone." The substance they spoke of was a diamond like substance only found under the soils of a planet called Ses-tin-sa. The planet that was first colonized by humans, and then stolen by the Azzins. 

The Azzins were large, green furred, six legged creatures, with four arms and a head that closely resembled that of a xenomorph, otherwise known as an Alien or Kainde' Amedha' (hard meat) in the yautja (predator) tongue. The Azzins were bent on seeking riches, it ruled their world and often was gotten at the expense of the humans. 

Fress stone was only used to decorate the bodies of creature's, in much the same way that humans used gold, silver and other semiprecious metals and stones. She often wondered what exactly made it "Semi-precious". 

It was very high on the market now and the demand was sky rocketing. Everybody was after them, even if it meant hiring mercenaries and pirates to get it. 

She leaned forward and closed the message box, but kept the computer on. Sitting back in the chair with a sigh, Tam' gotchi' looked around her ship. Her ship was built like the very old RV camper's from Earth....(At one end was the living area, sleeping quarters, and kitchen unit. The other end was the cockpit, giving her the means to monitor her surroundings and to control the movement of the vehicle.) She had obtained it from a rich human banker, who had owed her a valuable, antique rifle known as an M-16. She had a buyer, an antique weapons dealer, who was willing to pay 2,000 Gonz (3,000 American Dollars). But the slime did not come through on the trade, so she took his life and his ship instead. That was years ago now and though she had modified it to fit her larger frame, it still was uncomfortable. 

She hardly had any real room to do her exercises, but it made do for her lifestyle. 

Looking to the right at the banker's skull that was hung from a tethered rope suspended by a little hook on the ceiling. 

She smiled, surely his family wanted his head AND body back now. Not that they'd ever find it, for his body was nicely tucked away in a wooden box and well hidden in a secret cave that was one of her hideouts. 

A cave was a bit barbaric, a little on the cruel side even, but they were harder to find and hardly anyone these days thought of looking in one. 

Tam' gotchi' smiled again, sitting back and letting her large muscular body relax. Even though she was middle aged for a yautja, at around 200 years old (400 in human years) she was still in prime shape, and her body begged for exercise. Her muscles were screaming to run and stretch and fight. Her right leg bouncing up and down on the ball of her foot. Just the urge of ripping something to shreds was driving her nuts. 

That's when a beeping noise filled the room ringing in her ears. 

Jumping out of her slouched position she looked at the computer, finding that another message had popped onto the screen. Tam' gotchi' sighed shaking her head in frustration, assuming it was another employer wanting Fress stone. She reached her hand to the console and was about to delete the message, until she got a look at the sender, realizing that it wasn't a name from her normal stable of contacts. She didn't recognize anyone named Mack Pioneer. 

_This Mack Pioneer must know his way around the black market and amongst the thieves guilds if he got my message ID._ She thought rubbing one finger along her cheek. 

Usually she gave her ID to an employer who could keep their mouth shut about her, who she was...what she was. Most times she picked good employers. She had made mistakes before, though she always corrected them, their missing heads warning others to keep her secret. This guy must have some serious money and even more influence to risk her contact giving up her ID...It also meant there were loose tongues about the black market regarding her whereabouts. Tam' gotchi' decided it was prudent to lay low until she could stop the leak permanently. Still she was curious, and instead of deleting it, she clicked a different button and opened the message. 

**Hello.** The message wrote, **I went rummaging around the black market and "stumbled" onto your ID.**

She squinted her eyes, anger growing in her that she had been found so easily. 

**I am looking for a rare stone.**

This time she puffed, _More damn rocks! What is it with people and rocks these days?_ This is why is why she enjoyed doing business with her own species. They were never interested in worthless rocks. 

The men more than the woman sought fame and undeniable power in the most barbaric way. They wanted only better armor and weapons, or else they wanted the ultimate hunting experience. They were willing to trade handsomely with the same, armor they no longer desired, weapons they thought were outdated, and skulls...from many different species. And they were willing to do anything to get it, even if it meant discouraging the laws of their race. 

Getting better Yautja armor and weapons for them was easy. Giving them an ultimate hunting experience was another matter and not an easy one. She would have to sift through layers of different species with multiple personalities. Looking for that right personality that would give up a good fight. One that would hit back when it was attacked no matter what. 

Tam' gotchi' didn't sell or trade her species technology to other species, however. She saved them, stored them in case she was forced to seek refuge amongst her own kindit would allow her to blend back into society. They were a contingency, In case the bounty hunters and police officials were so close on her trail she would not be able to sleep. Yet, her people did not know of her mercenary and piracy ways, because the code would dictate that they take her head. It was dishonorable to Steal or to kill other than in the hunt, or to defend honor. The reason she liked hiding among her own species was nobody knew of their whereabouts. Hardly anyone knew that there was such a species known as the yautja. 

She turned her attention outward again and read on. 

**A stone known as a Dragon's Tear.**

She cocked her eye ridges. That was a rare stone, more rare then a Fress stone. She was told it was red and see-through being she couldn't see by color like a human. It was also oval shaped and about the size of the tip of index finger. The myth behind it which had gave it the name was said to have come from the tear's of a dragon, hence the name "Dragon's Tear". It was an old priceless relic dating back to 14th century and still could be found today, that's if the person looked hard enough. 

**I will pay you handsomely if you find this for me. Let us meet and talk. Sincerely, Mack Pioneer.**

She sat back in her chair again taking what she just read into consideration. 

Mack Pioneer was good enough to find her ID and his message was short and to the point. 

Finding a Dragon's Tear would indeed be hard to find. Especially if this contact did not know anyone or any organizations that might possess one. She surely didn't know anyone that had one or might be able to get one. She was suspicious of this opportunity, thinking that she would have to go through his life history and find out just what the man did for a living. It was possible he was a bounty hunter out for a score, though she could not think of any price placed on her head. Perhaps he was working for a protection agency. She would, of course have to rule out that he had anything to do with the law. She would start by scanning the message, to ensure it itself did not pose a threat. 

Some messages had trace programs attached to them, other wise known as a tracker bug. It piggybacks the message, undetectable by most means, just a passive string of code. When opened, the bug is activated and scans everything in the computer system in the receivers machine rooting out Message ID's, even the current address of the message ID. If it is a ship, the bug scans the satellite feed and navigation system. Yet the person who sent the tracker bug still cannot see the signal. When the bug is returned to the hands of the person who sent it, that person can see where their prey is currently at and pretty much know everything else about them. 

Leaning forward and letting both her hands hover over the console. Then, they began dancing about the keyboard. The clicking sound of her taloned fingers on the keys was the only sound filling the cabin. 

Not even a minute later the contents holding the message laid strewed about the screen. The message was now lines after lines of various numbers. These were the codes that held the paragraphs together. Running her right index finger on touch sensitive pad, she panned down the page. The bug she was looking for would leave spaces in between the numbers. In the space would be a pair of quotation marks with numbers in between them. Those were parts of the bug. Bits and pieces of it would be spread throughout the whole message. 

A static voice all of a sudden spilled from the speaker beside her. "T..m'...g...chi' y....ther..?" 

Of what she could hear the voice was speaking in the yautja tongue. Spinning her chair around and tuned into the frequency the person was using. 

"A..e...y..u there? Can you hear me?" The voice said clearly. 

Tam' gotchi' smiled. It was Yeyinde', a male of her species. Pressing the hands free button. "Yes I can hear you." Yeyinde' was a well respected Hunt Leader. He led the male unblooded and young bloods on hunts. She had always enjoyed being around him, but it had been years since she last saw him much less heard from him. He was a good hunter and better in bed, but that could and should be contributed to his experience. He was nearly 120 years older than her, but had maintained his good looks, "What have you been doing these past couple of years?" She asked. 

He snorted. "The same fucking thing every year, wiping the snot off the noses of the young. I think I am ready for a change, in fact, I am thinking of becoming an Arbitrator." 

Cocking her eyes again. "Really..." She said. 

An Arbitrator was mainly older Yautja. Otherwise known as elders or ancients, and made up of those who become bored with the hunt, and look toward keeping the law properly balanced. That meant that he was thinking of becoming what the humans referred to has a cop. Tam' gotchi' sat back in her chair laying her right hand over her face. The guy she liked wanted to be a cop, gggrreat. 

"Yes. I decided to call you and see what you were doing," He paused a moment, "I was wondering," He said. "if you wanted to go hunting with me. I know a perfect place we can hunt humans." 

She didn't say anything about him becoming an Arbitrator. Mainly he was saying he didn't want to hunt any more. Then contradicting himself by asking if she wanted to go hunting with him. She supposed that it was his way of courting her. Letting out a deep sigh, and put both her elbows onto the edges of the console laying her hands over her face. There was too much to do. There were bounty hunters after her. She needed to make plans to rob that rich family she has had her eye on for some time now. Then, if this message wasn't bugged and Mr. Pioneer came up clean, she would be taking a job from him. Now one of the men of her species she liked was thinking of becoming a cop. "Yeyinde'," Massaging her temple's as a headache emerged. "I...Let me get back to you on that...I'll give you an answer in a week." There was silence. 

Yeyinde' sighed. "Very well. I will hear from you within a week then." Then, the line went dead. He might have been a good hunter, leading hunts and good in bed but he was a terrible conversationalist. 

Letting out another sigh then went back to looking at the messege. It was like any other message and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Again, her fingers began dancing over the keyboard. Seconds later the message was back in it's original form. Taking her right hand off the keyboard and laid it across her large oval shaped forehead. The headachewas spreading. Standing to her feet and let out a gasp as it went to the back of her head. Nothing that four extra strength Tylenol's and a good nap couldn't handle. 


End file.
